Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-07-29
SECRET OF RUSSIAN IRON.
How an American Discovered the Pro
cess of Its Manufacture.

cess of Its Manufacture.
A romantic story was developed re-
Gently by the initial steps of building a
Russian iron mill at Freeport, small
town thirty miles north Of this city. The
towns people donated the site and $4,000
to q firm to build there. One of the firm
related to the correspondent the following
story:
'sThis will be the first Russian iron
mill ever built outside of Siberia. An
imitation of Russia iron has been made in
this country for some time but it is not
impervious to rust. Imperviousness to
rust is the crucial test of genuine Russia
iron.
''There is a little history connected with
the introduction of this industry into
America. Few persons imagine what a
risk was run in learning the secret of the
treatment by which Russia iron is made.
There are but three people outside of Rus
STA today that know this secret. They
are: Mr.. William II. Rogers, his father,
and his nephew. Mr.. Rogers came into
the possession of the secret in this way:
"About eighteen years ago he was sent
out as Pennsylvania state geologist to
Russia. He had credentials addressed to
Ex-Governor Curtin, the minister at ST..
Petersburg at that time, and was received
with great pomp and ceremony by Princess
Demidoff, in whose Siberian mines he was
ostensibly to carry on his geological in
vestigations. The princess attended him
in person on his long journey, 500 miles
into the Ural mountains, and treated the
American geologist with all the imperial
courtesy according to the most distin-
guished foreigner. The Russian mobiles,
foo tooly cr.aat fanou to Mr. Qooarc opd
insisted that he should purchase a few
million acres of land-in Siberia 1,000 900
acres is but trife-and establish an
American colony. Mr.. Rogers said he
hadn't the money.
"fOh, it won't take much, they said;
"a few million dollars would answer the
purpose
''The offer, however, was declined as
politely as possible without letting the
nobleman know that it was altogether
possible for Pennsylvania state geologist
to be as poor as the proverbial Jobs
turkey.
Gas long as Mr.. Rogers confined his
explorations to the miners he attracted
little or no suspicion, but as soon as h.
set foot inside the iron mills of Princess
Demidoff he was subject to the most vigil
liant espionage. 1t must be remembered
that all the men in those mills who know
the secret of making Russian iron are
never allowed to quit the mines. 1t is
difficult for Americans to understand how
this is, but to any one who has seen the
inside workings of such despotic govern
ment as Russia's the matter is perfectly
plain. All who pass to and from Siberia
are vised and vised again at thousand
different points, and the slightest sus-
picion is enough to warrant a travellers
detention.
zone day Mr.. Rogers was making an
inspection of the iron mills, when he over
heard one of the foremen say:
That's queer kind of a geologist.
have my suspicious about him.
''Mr. Rogers was not long in making
his arrangements for bidding the delect-
able land of Siberia a final farewell.
With the special study he has made of
iron making before going to Russia, he
was not long in discovering the much
coveted secret, and came home delighted
with his experience as a state geologist. -
Pittsburg Cor. Globe-Democrat.